Juncus rugulosus

Wrinkled rush

Family: Juncaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Wrinkled rush is a California native perennial found in southern Sierra Nevada Foothills, central and southern California Coast Ranges, southern California, Transverse and Peninsular Ranges, and desert mountains in wet places at elevations below 2,100 meters. Flowering from late spring to summer, this plant produces brown to reddish-brown flowers in dense clusters with small, bristle-tipped flower parts. Growing as a densely matted herb 15 to 70 centimeters tall with a stout horizontal rhizome, it forms intricate ground-covering patches. Its leafless stems have prominent scarious sheath appendages and cylindric blade-like stems with crosswalls, creating a distinctive woven appearance. The fruit emerges longer than the perianth, displaying a three-angled shape with a long beak and a bright reddish-brown coloration.

Habitat: Common. Wet places

Elevation: < 2100 m

Bioregions: s SNF, CCo, s SCoRO, SCo, TR, PR, DMtns, DSon

California counties: Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Kern, Monterey, Orange, Ventura, Tulare, Inyo, Santa Barbara

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.